The healing power of - Cook Children's

The workroom was filled with laughter as the kids used theirimagination to fill in the outline of the pre-drawn templatesunder the glass sheets. “Maybe it was a new kind of therapy– who knows,” Todd said. The kids were just being kids. Theyworked intently until it was time to go to an appointment andthen rushed back to work on the glass a little bit more.Todd reflected on the healing aspect of art, “Kids are kidsregardless of their environment. When they are working withart, they get 20 or 30 minutes to mentally leave the medicalsituation. What’s in front of them is a glass canvas and theyswitch gears for creating. I’d like to see what part of the brainlights up when they are in this state and how that affects theirhealing. They are unaware of their immediate surroundingsuntil a nurse comes to get them for treatment.”Todd said he has learned so much from working withchildren. “I seem to draw a lot of energy from working withthese kids. Constraints don’t mean a thing,” he said. Toddwas impressed by the kids’ use of color and layering. Whilethese young artists had no formal training, Todd said thatimperfection was the best part of the project. They understoodhow to work with the gel and Todd only had to do some slightcleanup to add a little more gel to complete a flower here andthere. “Whatever they did, I kept it intact,” he said.Todd reflected on his experience at Cook Children’s andsaid, “It was an honor when I was first asked to do this.When I lifted the kiln lid and saw the first piece, that’s when Irealized it was a privilege.”Diana HallPatients aren’t the only ones who benefit from the healingeffect of art. Parents also can find healing from art hangingin the corridors or in patient rooms. Many parents spendhours beside their children in the medical center and thetedium of those long hours can be made better whenthere is something colorful or thought provoking on thewalls. Photographer Diana Hall hopes that her touchingphotographs of babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit(NICU) will bring comfort and healing to the parents of thesetiny children. “Art can really make their day,” she said.center for weeks or even months,” she said.Hall has graciously donated the black and whitephotographs of the NICU babies, along with nearly 20pieces of art from her own collection, to hang in thecorridors and in the new patient rooms on the second andthird floors of the NICU.London KirchheferAnother example of the healing power of art comes fromthe experience of 19-year-old London Kirchhefer. Kirchheferis a dynamic, creative and artistic young lady who has beenreceiving treatment at Cook Children’s for a neurologicalissue that is affecting the motor skills in her left hand.Recently, Kirchhefer participated with other patients to createoriginal paintings for the donor wall located on the new MainStreet on the medical center’s first floor.Kirchhefer says that while she feels pain every day,art takes her mind off of what’s happening. “If I’m doingsomething that’s not using my arm, that’s where myfocus is. It becomes a different world when I paint,” shesaid. Kirchhefer explains that her painting on the donorwall has three parts. “I put so much into that. It’s one ofthose paintings you have to keep looking at. I wanted tofind a way to incorporate my faith, my hobbies and mytraditions,” she said. “I don’t believe that medicine alwaysgets rid of pain.”The best form of medication, Kirchhefer says, isentertainment, which is depicted in her painting titled,Entertainment Rainbow. Along with entertainment, Londonincorporated her love of music and painting into hercomposition.Hall recently spent a day in the NICU photographingseveral babies. While she found the session challenging,Hall was honored to photograph these small babies. “Onelittle boy was so tiny,” she said. “He had all of these wirescoming out of him and a breathing tube in his nose. Hismom was there with him and she was stressed. Your heartjust breaks for them.”Hall was impressed by those families who foundthemselves at the medical center for extended periods oftime. She said the nurses make all the difference. “WhenI was there taking pictures, the nurses were so nice. Theyreally care about the families and the babies. I can onlyimagine how hard it would be to have a baby in the medicalPhoto provided Diana Hall Photography.www.cookchildrens.org | Fall 2011 5